I have a pretty decent (albeit modest) set-up of a ND5XS streamer, a CD5X with a Flat appointment 2X, into a supernait 2 (with a Hicap DR) with a lovely pair of Linn Majik isobarik floorstanders.
I listen to a lot of Tidal content and iraxio stations with the occasional CD session.
Anyway is it worth lashing out for an NDac to feed from the Streamer (obviously only playing CD quality not flac) or do I buy the NDac and a Wiim streamer (to get the Tidal flac access) and bin the ND5XS?
Thoughts anybody?
Cheers.
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What you don’t do is bin the ND5XS2! It’s the star in the Naim lineup, at the sweet spot of performance and value.
I’ve just taken the plunge and bought a 2012 nDAC. I can’t tell you what it sounds like yet because the seller sent me the wrong interconnect. He’s now getting hold of the correct one, and is letting me have it at a much-reduced price because of the inconvenience.
You and I have similar systems. I can report back when I finally get it all set up with the new/old nDAC.
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I’d probably sell the ND5XS, which still has value, and find a nice ND5XS2 to replace it. It will give you high res Tidal, the new iRadio, which is really good, and will continue to be updated. It will sound better than your XS and be a simple slot in. If you are feeling flush, an NDX2 would be even better.
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What you missed is that the OP has the original ND5XS, hence the issue.
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Aaargh! I swear I’m going doolally. I blame age and declining health.
Probably the stress of next Tuesday.
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I’ve banned all talk of that until December! It’s doing my nut in.
I can imagine.
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Have nothing constructive to add im afraid, but nice to see another Cottager here.
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Perhaps you should rephrase that! Do Fulham fans really call themselves Cottagers?
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I was waiting for that HH!
The team are known as the Cottagers, fans less so…i think!
Supporters of London’s oldest professional football club!
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Going with bhoyo’s answer yes the ND5XS2 is actually an option BUT if I can use a Wiim streamer into a naim Dac to get the sound I like (that is the 'naim PRAT) then any future streaming changes I can swap out a comparatively cheap streaming front end for a new one.
Good lord the price of some of the latest naim streamers you could buy a small family car Lol.
When I had an ND5XS I upgraded by adding an external DAC, with a far greater improvement and for less money than when I tried the recommended external power supply (XP5XS). The DAC I used was the Chord Hugo, and it was transformational, making music far more natural-sounding. I can’t comment as to whether the nDAC would bring as great an improvement as I’ve never heard one.
As for the Naim PRaT, I am under the impression that the fabled “Naim Sound” is primarily a function of Naim amplifiers, while “PRaT” is probably common to most decent hifi, though in reality it is a rather meaningless term. Certainly my ND5XS brought no significant change in sound compared to the non-Naim CD player it replaced (Shearne Audio Phase 7).
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Bare Ndac is not especially strong in the prat department, to shine it needs a psu and (even more important) decent network for the streamer in front.”
A Bare Naim DAC is a lovely bit of kit. Yes, you can improve with an XPS or, better still, a 555PS, but the DAC on its own is still great.
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I’m on team nDac… I find I like the ease and naturalness of its presentation better than the NDX2. (for context I have not used a Naim power supply - yet). I’ve done the comparison multiple times with different amps and speakers and the nDac always wins out. ymmv.
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The nDAC responds well to any good source.
We ran ours from an iPad via SMSL USB-> S/PDIF for a while to get Tidal Max. Sounded very good, but just beaten on CD quality by the NDX2 as source.
However, given the vast difference in price of the two sources there really wasn’t very much in it.
Haven’t used any WiiM devices ourself, but they seem to get decent reviews.
I guess the throw up would be ND5XS2 (used around ÂŁ1600 UK) or streamer and nDAC. If you go for ND5XS2 now, to get Tidal Max and latest internet radio firmware, you could add nDAC later - a great combo.
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It’s a very good source but ultimately needs a psu therefore 3-box. And 4 Power lines including the one on the adjacent router/switch
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“Needs”? I’m not so sure. The ND5XS2 doesn’t need the nDAC, which in turn doesn’t need the PSU. Nice to have, certainly, but the music will still sound great without the upgrades.
And I’m apparently a lone voice when it comes to Powerlines. I found that adding one to my system produced little to no discernible difference. But maybe that’s just me.
Edit: A Powerline would have produced a discernible difference to my bank account, but I had one on loan.
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